The Love Of Chocolate
by destroyerdani
Summary: Hello! This is my first shot at fanfic, so please don't kill me if I ruin your expectation of RotBTD. I'm really bad at Scottish accents so sorry for the fact that Merida speaks normally(or normal for me anyway) All rights go to Dreamworks and I do not own the characters in this story, I simply own the writing itself. So, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Merida paced inside the witch's store. She had come to pick up some parts for Hiccup, who was working on some contraption for Toothless. She could hear the old woman crashing around in the back of her store.

"What is taking her so long?" she muttered. She had plans for today, go out riding with Angus and meet up with Jack and Punz. Hiccup had turned down their invitation, deciding instead to work on his invention. She sighed lightly. "He's always so preoccupied." she murmured to herself. A head appeared next to her.

"What that?" the witch cackled, her arms flowing with bags of metal and fabric pieces. "Looks like someone is a bit down." she crowed. Merida sighed and took the pieces.

"You don't know half of it." she said tiredly. The old witch grinned.

"Lucky for you, I have just the cure!" She grinned wildly, thrusting something at Merida's mouth. She spat it out almost instantly.

"What was that!" she demanded. The witch looked down at the block lying on the floor.

"That, little missy, was chocolate! My own invention! Come on, it's harmless." Merida gave her a dirty look.

"You don't seem to remember the last time I brought food from you." she remarked dryly. The old witch grinned.

"Eat it. I promise it's fine." She popped a piece into her mouth, and then offered the rest to Merida. Merida gingerly took it and bit a corner off. The taste rolled around her mouth, a sweet creamy taste that enticed her taste buds.

"It's good!" she exclaimed. She bit off more and more, soon reducing the block to some crumbs littered in her hand. She licked her lips, savouring the taste. The witch eyed her with a smirk.

"I told you it was fine." Merida smiled at the witch slightly, rubbing the residue off her upper lip.

"May I have more?" she asked sweetly. The old woman cackled loudly.

"Enthusiastic little girl, aren't you? No, I need it for something I'm whipping up later." Merida pouted slightly.

"All right then. I better get going." she said, heading for the door. She heaved the bundle of parts on Angus, who whickered at her. She patted his snout fondly. "Let's go." she said, swinging up onto his back. Her hair streamed out behind her as they raced along. She was already craving more chocolate. Inside her mind, she worked out a plan. _I'll go tomorrow and get some more. She will probably have some left over. _She smiled to herself at the thought of meeting her friends, except the feeling was tinged with disappointment from Hiccup's absence. _Next time._ She thought. _Next time._

* * *

Merida woke up the next morning with the acute feeling of purposefulness. She narrowed her eyes at her ceiling before she figured it out. _Chocolate. _She licked her lips absently, running through the plan she had made last night.

_Distract the witch._

_Get in and then get out._

It was simple, and a lot of things could go wrong. But she was confident. She mounted Angus, then rode towards the tree that hid the witch's store. She looked pointedly at Angus, who whickered in response and started to kick around the front, neighing loudly. Soon enough the door creaked open.

"Aren't you the little lass's horse? Whatcha doing out here? Shoo! Shoo!" Merida could hear the witch's crackling voice as she slipped through the door. She rummaged carefully around the tables.

"Where is that blasted chocolate." she muttered. Soon enough, her hand landed upon a bag of brown blocks. She pulled it out happily. She tugged at the string, opening the bag. She lifted out a few pieces, and popped one in her mouth.

She failed to notice the slightly pink hue coming from the chocolate.

She also failed to notice the label on the bag, reading "love p-".

* * *

Hiccup sat at his desk, staring at the designs in front of him. He was waiting on Merida to drop by with the extra pieces, but so far there had been no sign of her. He was slightly disappointed, having been looking forward to the red head's visit somewhat more than he should have. As he traced the charcoal marks, the door was flung open. Merida stood in the doorway, her hair falling around her shoulders. Hiccup couldn't help but stare at her loose locks that framed her head perfectly. She smiled at him, with a strange look in her eyes.

"Hello Hiccup." she said happily. Hiccup blinked in confusion at the light streaming in from the door.

"Hello Merida." he replied a little too quickly. She gave him another dazzling smile, and he relaxed minutely. She stepped towards him, letting the bags of equipment falling to the ground. Hiccup winced at the crash. Merida continued on towards him, with that same dreamy expression. He stared at the approaching figure. She smiled encouragingly at him, which only served to make him more nervous.

_Did I do something wrong? _He thought apprehensively. As he was thinking, he didn't realize how close Merida had gotten. Which meant he wasn't ready at all for what happened next.

She leant in.

And kissed him.

Hiccup's eyes widened in surprise, and he jerked his head back and scrabbled up onto his desk.

"Wh-what!?" he stammered. Merida stared at him with a blank expression for a few seconds, and then her eyes widened. Her hands went flying to mouth and she stepped back into the wall. She stared at him in shock.

"What did I do!" she cried. Hiccup nodded fervently.

"What _did_ you do?!" he echoed. Merida started to pace, as Hiccup lowered himself slowly from his desk, watching Merida cautiously. She whirled around to face him.

"What did _you _do?!" she demanded. Hiccup backed up his desk again.

"What do you mean?" he spluttered. "You were the one that, that…" he trailed off as the full meaning of the situation sunk in.

_She kissed me._

He could feel his heart start pounding.

_Full on the lips kiss._

His face started to redden.

_Does she... like me?_

The last thought was too much to comprehend. His head swirled with thoughts, causing him to shake his head to clear them all.

_What if she does like me?_

He could still feel her lips on his.

The slight sweet taste of them.

_Oh no._

He had tried to deny it, but he knew that he had more feelings for the Scottish girl than was normal. She was still staring at him in shock, as if he had any idea what was going on.

He couldn't be further.

Merida suddenly turned a light shade of red.

"Oh gods," she said softly, "I kissed you." Her tone was small and horrified. Hiccup stared at her in dismay, nodding his head slowly.

"You did." There was a silence between them, one that stretched out for forever. Two blushing people not meeting each other's eyes. Merida gulped, finally breaking the silence.

"I, I better get going." she stammered quickly. Hiccup brought himself to look at her. She looked close to tears. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it promptly.

_Say something idiot! _He screamed inside. _Tell her to-_

_To stay with you._ His horror must was probably in his eyes, because Merida quickly gathered her cloak and headed for the door. He reached his arm out for her, but he grasped nothing but air.

"Wait, Merida." he said hesitantly. Merida was glad that she had her back to him, so that he couldn't see her furiously burning cheeks.

"My mum will be expecting me." she mumbled. Hiccup let his arm drop as she walked out, her dress swishing in the wind. A twinge of disappointment started up inside him, working its way into his heart as the door swung shut with ominous finality. He flopped down into his chair, sighing.

"She kissed me." he said to no-one, taking in the sound of the sentence. He played absently with his pen.

_She kissed me._

What would Dad say?

_Does it matter?_

He's my dad!

_But she kissed you._

That could mean nothing for all I know.

_Oh yes, people just going around kissing others randomly._

Do they?

_No idiot! They don't!_

He sighed. Arguing with himself was almost as bad as arguing with Jack.

"So she does like me?" He realized that he had said the last sentence out loud. He swallowed nervously.

_The important thing is, do you like her?_

He breathed out slowly, taking in the sentence. After an eternity, words came to his throat.

"Yes." he whispered hoarsely, the word dancing away from him in the sunlight.

_Now, what are you going to do about it?_

He sighed lightly, letting his head fall into his hand.

"Why is love so complicated?" he asked. "Is it like this for everyone? Or just me?"

_Probably just you, only you can make such a big deal about something like this._

Little did he know, right on the other side of the wall, leaning against his door, a certain red-head girl's thoughts mirrored his almost perfectly.


	2. Chapter 2

Merida raced along on Angus, with the wind whistling around her. Jack was flying next to her, bringing with him a rush of snowflakes. She turned her head to look at him. He had a sly grin on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?" she asked. Jack grinned even more.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it Princess." he said laughingly, which only cause Merida to be more suspicious.

"You're up to something Jack." she told him matter-of-factly. Jack made an offended noise.

"What? Why would you think that of me?" he said in mock horror. Merida glared at him, which Jack replied to by grinning flippantly. Beside her, she heard the echo of another horse's hooves.

"Hey Jack! Hey Merida!" Rapunzel's bright voice came to them from behind. She was riding on Maximus, her golden plait flying behind her. Merida waved at her in reply.

"Hello Punz!" she called. Rapunzel smiled at her, her green eyes sparkling. Merida had the feeling she was missing something. She sighed lightly. She was always the third wheel when it came to these two. They weren't dating, but she sensed it would soon be time enough. As they rode along, with Merida in the middle of the two, she found herself wishing for Hiccup. Guilt welled up inside of her. She hadn't talked to him since the day of the incident, despite his many attempts at reconciliation. She felt bad for avoiding him, but she wanted to forget that day ever happened, and seeing his face didn't help.

"Merida, where are you going?" Jack's voice rang out from behind her. Lost in her thoughts, she had ridden right past the spot where they were stopping.

"Oops." she said sheepishly. Jack laughed at her.

"Only you Merida, only you." he said in fake disappointment. Merida glared at him.

"Shut up." she said irritably. Jack leaned on his staff and smirked at her. She slipped off Angus and looked around. They were standing in a large clearing, with a patch of flattened grass at one end. Merida frowned. This place was familiar. A shadow passed over them, and then it hit Merida. She promptly turned away from the clearing, swinging up on Angus.

"Of all the low, shady things to do-" she started. Jack appeared in front of Angus, blocking her way.

"And where do you think you are going." he asked her. She glared at him.

"Out of my way Jack." she snapped. Jack folded his arms.

"No." They glared at each other silently, with Jack coming off on top. Merida glared at him, then sighed. Arguing with Jack and winning was a privilege reserved only for Rapunzel. Slowly, she turned Angus around and reluctantly faced the dragon crouched in the clearing. Rapunzel was looking between them with a knowing smile, while Jack was messing around with some butterflies. Merida stared at the sky, not meeting Hiccup's gaze. A sudden gasp beside her made her jump. She whirled around to see Jack with his mouth open in horror.

"Oh no!" he said dramatically. "I forgot, I have some towns to snow in! I need to go!" He looked at them with an extravagant expression of disappointment and said "Sorry guys," with an exaggerated sigh, "I have to go." And with that, he left in a blast of snowflakes. Merida stared after him in surprise. Rapunzel cleared her throat.

"Um..." she started with a guilty expression. "I just realized I need to go collect some hazelnuts for the soup tonight. I got to go." Merida realized what was happening just as she left. She lunged for Rapunzel's wrist, but she already disappeared into the forest.

"Rapunzel!" she called, but there was nothing but the rustle of the branches. She heard footsteps behind her. Steeling herself, she hesitantly turned around to face Hiccup. He was standing by Toothless, staring at the ground. Merida could only stare at him in surprise. He shuffled towards her awkwardly.

_Oh no._

Soon enough, he was directly in front of her.

_What is he going to say?_

He was staring at the ground, his face red.

_Oh gods, I can't do this._

"I heard it was your birthday soon, so, uh, here." He thrust a parcel towards her, then quickly turned and ran back to Toothless. She stared down at the parcel in her hand. SA blast of wind in her face told her Hiccup was already on his way. She tugged gently at the string tied around the parcel. Two carefully folded pieces of paper fell out into her hand. She unfolded one of them. It was a charcoal sketch of the four of them. It was a memory she remembered fondly.

_Laughing in the sunshine._

It was from the time Hiccup had first succeeded at archery.

_Walking back along the river._

She smiled lightly, then traced the lines on the paper.

_Falling into the river._

"He really is a good artist." she murmured. As she was examining the drawing, something slid out of the bag.

A single block of chocolate.

Merida could feel all the blood rushing to her face.

_Oh gods, he KNOWS?_

With trembling fingers, she picked up the block.

It really was chocolate.

_He does know!_

She stuffed the chocolate back into the bag and hastily opened the other piece of paper. It was a letter. Hiccup's elegant writing scrawled across the page.

_Hello Mer, _it read, _Jack told me that it was your birthday in three day's time. Unfortunately, I am leaving this afternoon for a Viking meeting, and therefore won't be here for it. I hope that this makes up for it and that you have a great day. I was in the old witch's store getting some more parts when she suggested that I buy this chocolate thing for you, so I hope you like it._

Then there was a furiously crossed out letter, which looked something like L, and underneath that,

_Your friend, Hiccup._

Merida sighed lightly and took out the chocolate. She examined it, then stowed it away for later, a warm feeling growing in her chest. Mounting Angus effortlessly, she urged him on, faster and faster with the wind racing beside her and Hiccup's words flowing through her mind.

As she was mentally re-reading the letter, something occurred to her.

_My birthday is in a week._

She stopped Angus suddenly, breathing hard.

High above her, Jack and Rapunzel hovered in the sky, watching her progress along. Jack grinned at Rapunzel, who smiled knowingly back.

"I would say it's a success." she remarked. Jack nodded.

"Merida and Hiccup; 0, Jack and Punz; 1. Definite success, I think." he replied. They grinned at each other and returned to watching their two best friends go their own ways, each thinking of the same thing.


End file.
